Nice Package: 1000 Faces Coffee In Athens, Georgia

In the last ten years, 1000 Faces has been roasting coffee well in Athens, Georgia. Last month, the company revealed some nice packaging and we took notice. They worked with a team of in-house artists and designers to create a fresh new look. “1000 Faces has grown and evolved and blossomed so much over the years,” says QC Director Chris Silvestro, “we thought it was time to refresh and come out with a packaging that truly reflects who we are as a company and what we stand for.”

As told to Sprudge by QC Director Chris Silvestro.

Tell us a bit about your company.

1000 Faces is a specialty coffee roaster and cafe, but symbolically, we are a merchant of change and voyager of the agrarian spirit. Since we opened our doors in Athens, Georgia back in 2006, we have been working in partnership with the two most important ends of the 1000 Faces spectrum: the grower and the customer. It is this partnership that is at the foundation for real economic sustainability for not just us, but all parties involved. We believe that respect for geographic origin, direct relationships, and ecological awareness is the basis for creating a more sustainable coffee culture.

When did the coffee package design debut?

We’ll be doing a soft launch at our in-house Coffee & Chocolate Brew School on Feb 11th, and a full launch across all accounts on Monday, February 13th, right in time for Valentine’s Day.

Who designed the package (in house? design firm?)

In-house! They are actual a collaborative project between three different in-house artists and graphic designers that we’ve had through the years. Namely, Kylie Wagner, Caitlin Lemoine, and Sommers Creed.

We love a lot of things about this bag, both functionally and aesthetically.

Functionally, the bag has a pull-tab and zip closure which allows for easy opening and resealing for the customer, and a degassing valve which is crucial for freshly roasted beans. The block bottom is free-standing and the shape of the bag doesn’t require a tin-tie for roll-down.

Aesthetically, we wanted to bring together the origin and the brewer. The spirographs echo coffee blossoms and other organic shapes (including a lil bean cross-section if you look closely) and the color of the kraft paper with the slight creamy white swirls echo both the gentle steam rising from a hot cup and, of course, the milk designs of latte art. And finally, we love that the bag pays homage to the diversity in coffee origins via the colorful coffee identifier labels. Greenish blues for Africa, reddish tones for Central and South America, purples for Southeast Asia, and good ol’ black and white for blends and decaf.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

On the label you’ll find the taste notes, farm/producer, origin, region, and processing method. On the bag itself we included a brew recipe that we enjoy, the date it was roasted, as well as a little bit about who we are.

What’s the motivation behind that?

We wanted to include all the information that coffee nerds look for when they buy a bag of coffee, while keeping it simple at the same time, making it more easily accessible for people who may not initially know (or care) all that much about coffee and are just looking to brew up a nice cup.

Where is the bag manufactured?

The bag is printed in the Asian production facilities of Pacific Bag, Inc. We print our coffee identifier labels in house.

For package nerds, what type of package is it?

It is Pacific Bag’s Biotre block-bottom zipper bag in brown kraft, with a one-way degassing valve on the backside of the bag.

Is the package recyclable/compostable?

Yes! It is made from Pacific Bag’s proprietary Biotre material. Per Pacific Bag:

“Biotrē Film is made from 60% (by weight) renewable wood pulp. The wood pulp portion is biodegradable. Third party testing per ASTM tests D-6868 and D-6400 confirmed that nearly all of the wood pulp portion will disintegrate into healthy compost over 84 days in a backyard, home composting environment.

The remaining 40% (by weight) of the bag is Polyethylene (PE) with an additive that is designed to make it disintegrate significantly faster than standard plastic.

Biotre is not compatible with industrial or municipal composting. It is best disposed by placing it in a privately managed compost pile where the 40% PE layer and one-way degassing valve can be removed manually and disposed in the regular trash. When a portion or all of Biotre is properly disposed with regular trash, its impact on the environment will be much less compared to a standard plastic/foil material which is made from 100% non-renewable resources and is not considered biodegradable in any way.”

Where is it currently available?

You can pick up a bag on our website or in person at our roasting facility in Athens. You can also snag a bag at select cafes and grocery outlets throughout Georgia and North Carolina, including our sister shop Vortex Donuts in Asheville. We’re proud to retail high-quality coffee at three area farmers markets as well, and are adding a fourth for 2017. Stay in touch via social media to keep abreast of all our outlets.

Nice Package is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read more Nice Package here.

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